Leadership

Our Executive Team:

Richard Daiker, Chairman in Memorium

As the founding principal of K&S Insurance Agency, Mr. Daiker played a key role in growing the company from a sole proprietor to its current status as one of the largest commercial insurance brokers in the state of Texas. Mr. Daiker passed away on November 6th, 2013.

Tony Fierro, President

University of North Texas alumni Tony Fierro joined K&S in 1999 following a two year stint in the finance industry. Mr. Fierro is a Certified Insurance Counselor, the industry’s leading designation for experienced professionals who have completed a rigorous education and examination program. He is currently on the board of K&S Group, Inc. and serves as Vice President. He is a Deacon and founding member of Crosspoint Community Church, a board member of thelastwell.org (a water project for Liberia), the Associated General Contractors of both Dallas and El Paso, the Hispanic Contractors Associations of Dallas/Ft. Worth, and the National Association of Surety Bond Producers. In addition, Mr. Fierro serves as chair on the University of North Texas Program Advisory Council Department of Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Law, and is a member of the Dean's Advisory Board.

John D. Marek, Senior Vice President

A specialist in manufacturing, wholesale, retail and construction, Mr. Marek’s industry experience dates back to the early 1990s when he began working for a local agency as an account representative following his graduation from UT-Arlington. He’s earned designations as both a Certified Insurance Counselor and Certified Risk Manager. Mr. Marek is the past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas, a leading industry professional group. He’s also an active member of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors.

Johnny Moss, Chief Financial Officer

After graduating from Texas Tech University, Mr. Moss went to work for CNA Surety as a bond underwriter until he joined K&S in 2002. Besides managing K&S financial operations, he is also a leader of the firm’s new business team and is responsible for providing each insurance and surety client with exceptional client service. Mr. Moss was a founding board member of the current Young Construction Council at AGC in Dallas. He is currently an active member/leader in the Association of General Contractors & National Association of Surety Bond Producers. He is also a member at Lake Point Church.

Gary Thompson, Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Thompson is a 40 year insurance industry veteran who is responsible for overseeing the agency’s daily operations. Besides marketing, he also has experience in risk management and commercial underwriting. Mr. Thompson earned his MBA from East Texas State University and has been with the agency for over 30 years.

Our management and production team:

Cliff Craddock, Vice President

Cliff joined K&S in 2005 and is the managing director of the health insurance division of K&S. He specializes in fully insured large group health plans, self insured group plans, and group voluntary products. Before joining K &S, he had a successful career at ADP working with companies to help outsource HR administration, employee benefits and payroll.

Cliff graduated from the University of Oklahoma where he earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He is currently pursuing the designation of Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS). Cliff and his wife Kim along with their 2 children live in Heath, TX.

Jay Jordan, Vice President

Mr. Jordan joined the K & S team in 2005 after working for nearly 8 years at Automatic Data Processing. He is a Texas Tech graduate and is focused on helping clients with their Property & Casualty and Surety needs. He is a member of the United Masonry Contractors Association and the North Texas Stone Fabricators Association. Mr. Jordan also serves as a Director at Synergy Bank and is a leader of the Lake Pointe Church Adoption and Foster Care Ministry.

Rob Kanuth, Vice President

A University of North Texas graduate, Rob began building his book of insurance and bond clients in 2002 and joined K&S Insurance Agency in 2006. He is a member of the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) and several insurance industry groups including the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) and the IIAD Young Agents program. He is president of Alumni Corporation Board for the University of North Texas Chapter of Delta Sigma Phi; participates in the University of North Texas Mentor Program; and he is the founder of the Santa’s Little Helpers charity benefiting New Horizons Children’s Home. Rob is very active in mentoring and coaching children through youth sports. He lives in Rockwall, TX with his wife Kate, daughter Elle, and son Eli.

Jeremy Barnett, Vice President

Jeremy is originally from Lubbock Texas and values his West Texas Heritage. After graduating from Coronado High School in Lubbock in 1994 he attended Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, TX. He played soccer at Midwestern and graduated with a major in Marketing in 1998. Jeremy joined K&S Insurance Agency in 2009 coming over from the construction industry. He received his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 2012. Jeremy is also a member of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) and the IIAD Young Agents program. He currently attends First United Methodist Church of Midlothian and sits on the Board of Trustees. Jeremy is very active in mentoring and coaching children through youth soccer and teaching Jr. High Sunday School. He has an obvious passion for it. He lives in Midlothian, TX with his wife Shannon, son Justin, and daughter Tatum.

Jade Porter, Vice President

Jade is originally from El Paso Texas and is an alumni of Franklin High School. Mr. Porter went on to attend The University of North Texas and in 2002 earned a degree in Finance. Upon graduation Mr. Porter went into the banking industry where he was a branch manager for Nationstar Mortgage. Jade joined the K&S Sales force in 2008 and is an active member in the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, the IIAD Young Agents of Texas and the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association. He currently lives in Rockwall Texas with his wife Jennifer and daughters Analeigh and Emmerson.

Jarrett Willson, Vice President

Jarrett joined K&S in 2011 after eight years with Pepsi Beverages Company where he served in multiple sales related capacities. Jarrett has a strong background in customer service and has brought that approach to K&S where he strives to provide each client with the highest level of personalized customer service. Jarrett is a member of the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas as well as Eastridge Church of Christ in Rockwall.

Jack Nottingham, Vice President

Jack Nottingham began his insurance career with K &S in 2008, starting out in the marketing department before going into production in January of 2012. He is a graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos. His experience is in the construction and manufacturing industry.

Judy Corley, Production

Judy is originally from Tyler where she spent the first 13 years of her commercial insurance career focusing on construction, oil & gas and manufacturing risks. Her family background is in commercial construction. Judy earned the Certified Insurance Counselor designation in 1998 and joined K&S in 2010. She currently lives in Forney but spends her free time and weekends in east Texas with family riding horses, fishing, or doing home remodel projects.

Chris Hill, Production

Chris joined K&S as an employee benefits consultant in 2015 and works with employers to provide solutions to the challenges of health care reform. Prior to joining K&S, he spent 20 years in the private club and tennis industry in the roles of General Manager and Tennis Director. Chris played tennis at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he earned his B.S. in Biology. He is active in Dallas HR, where he volunteers on the membership committee as an ambassador. He enjoys playing competitive tennis, spending time with family and being active in his church. He lives in Rockwall with his wife Shelley, son Roman, and daughter, Isabella.

Kathy Watkins, Marketing Manager

Kathy joined K & S in 2008 after working with Dean & Draper Insurance Agency in Houston, TX for 27 years. Her designations include CIC, ACSR, and CPIW. Kathy has three children, Shane, Shannon, and Steven and four grandchildren. Outside of work Kathy enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and helping others.

Shauna Brinkman, Operations Manager

Shauna joined K & S in 2012 as an Account Manager and is now our Operations Manager. She has been in the Insurance Industry for nine years with experience on both the broker and agency side. Shauna is mindful to ensure her staff is current regarding insurance change in the industry so to better serve the agency's clients. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family and anything outdoors.

Josh Gilbert, Account Executive

Josh started with K&S as an intern in the summer of 2001. After graduating from Baylor University in 2002, Josh was hired full time and learned all job functions within the agency on his way to becoming an Account Executive. He has achieved his Certified Insurance Counselor designation and is loooking for other educational opportunities to help better serve the firm’s clients. Outside of work Josh enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying to improve his golf game, and Cross Fit.

Johnny Swain, Account Executive

Johnny joined K&S Insurance in 2011 after an 11 year career in personal, commercial, and investment banking. He is a graduate of Eastfield College and currently holds a Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designation and is pursuing the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation. Johnny has quickly moved through several job functions including renewal marketing and the new business marketing department and has recently been appointed as our newest Account Executive. He is a 12 year resident of Rockwall, TX with his wife Tiffany and daughter Landry, where he enjoys boating and playing tennis.

Mistie Beck, Bond Manager

Mrs. Beck began her career in the surety industry as an underwriting account manager in 1998 with Reliance Insurance Company in Dallas, TX. Reliance merged with Travelers Insurance Company in 2001. Mrs. Beck continued her professional development with the Travelers bond department as a Construction Underwriter until November 2008 when she joined another local agency as their Surety Manager. In June of 2011, she joined the K&S team. Besides managing the bond department, she is responsible for providing superior customer service and the development of agency/client relationships. She is also an integral force in helping create and maintain an energized internal environment. Mrs. Beck holds a Texas Insurance license since 2009 and is currently working towards her AFSB designation. She is an active member of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers and the Dallas Surety Association.

Misti Jones, Bookkeeper

Jim Parker, Loss Control

Steven Searcey, Production

Robert Shuya, Production

Testimonials

Through K&S’s loss control services and risk management tools, we have been able to minimize our insurance cost and coverage fluctuations by having an open relationship with not only K&S, but also our carrier which they have helped foster.

K&S has been a trusted partner in several areas including; risk management, insurance and surety which helped advance our growth from 22 employees several years ago to presently over 275. They not only realized our expectations, but understood our client’s expectations and helped us exceed them.